Abstract
Urban groundwater level monitoring is vital for enabling data-driven decision-making and sustainable urban water resource management. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) offer an effective solution for real-time observation of spatially distributed underground water sources. However, conventional WSN protocols often face significant limitations, such as unbalanced data routing, excessive energy consumption, and the energy hole problem near the sink. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes an energy-efficient WSN protocol named Sleep Scheduled Data Aggregation with Sink Mobility (SSDA-SM), specifically designed for Urban Groundwater Monitoring (UGM) in heterogeneous sensor networks. The protocol incorporates a machine learning (ML)-based probabilistic clustering mechanism to optimize Cluster Head (CH) selection, considering residual energy, node density, and average network energy. To further conserve energy, a proximity-aware sleep scheduling strategy selectively deactivates redundant nodes, while dynamic sink mobility uniformly balances communication load and mitigates the energy hole problem. Moreover, to reduce transmission overhead, Compressive Sensing (CS) is applied at the CH level for data aggregation, and the original data is accurately reconstructed at the sink using an appropriate decoding algorithm. The SSDA-SM protocol is implemented and simulated in MATLAB. Performance evaluation shows that SSDA-SM significantly outperforms existing protocols such as OCNTMS, MEDF, SEI\(^{2}\), and MACOA across various metrics including network lifetime, energy consumption per round, data throughput, packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delay, cluster stability, compression ratio, and reconstruction accuracy. These results demonstrate that SSDA-SM is a robust, scalable, and energy-efficient solution for long-term urban groundwater level monitoring using heterogeneous WSNs.
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [NA], upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- ANN:
-
Artificial neural network
- DEC-KM :
-
Distance–energy–centroid k-means
- IK-MACHES :
-
Improved K-means–mobility aware cluster head election scheme
- IS-k-means :
-
Improved soft-k-means clustering algorithm
- LEACH-RLC :
-
Low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy–reinforcement learning based clustering
- MACOA :
-
Multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithm
- MEDF :
-
Mobile Energy–aware data forwarding
- ML-CH Hybrid :
-
Machine learning–based cluster head hybrid
- MOCRAW :
-
Mobile Sink–based clustering and routing algorithm using whale optimization
- OCNTMS :
-
Optimized clustering using node threshold and mobile sink
- SEI\(^{2}\) :
-
Secure and energy-efficient infrastructure
- SVM + RF Ensemble :
-
Support vector machine + random forest ensemble
- PSO :
-
Particle swarm optimization
- GWO :
-
Grey Wolf optimization
- DA :
-
Dragonfly algorithm
- A-HDAC :
-
Adaptive hierarchical data aggregation and compressive sensing
- NSPL-HCS :
-
Non-sparse projection learning–hybrid compressive sensing
- UWSNs :
-
Underwater wireless sensor networks
- BLDCSSA-CDG :
-
Balanced load distributed clustering with sleep scheduling algorithm – centralized data gathering
- NDP :
-
Node Disjoint paths
- TSCH :
-
Time slotted channel hopping
- TASA :
-
Time slotted channel hopping with adaptive scheduling algorithm
- SEED-style :
-
Sleep energy-efficient duty-cycle style
References
Venkatesh, J., Partheeban, P., Baskaran, A., Krishnan, D. & Sridhar, M. Wireless sensor network technology and geospatial technology for groundwater quality monitoring. J. Ind. Inf. Integr. 38, 100569 (2024).
Aburukba, R. et al. Wireless Sensor Networks for Urban Development: A Study of Applications, Challenges, and Performance Metrics. Smart Cities 8(3), 89 (2025).
Bhasker, B. & Murali, S. An Energy-Efficient Cluster-based data aggregation for agriculture irrigation management system using wireless sensor networks. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess. 65, 103771 (2024).
Alhazemi, F. Sequential clustering phases for environmental noise level monitoring on a mobile crowd sourcing/sensing platform. Sensors 25(5), 1601 (2025).
Tong, S. & Peng, J. Providing an optimal method for clustering in wireless sensor networks based on the Q-LEACH protocol. Multisc. Multidiscipl. Model. Exp. Des. 8(6), 294 (2025).
Prabu, R. T. et al. IoT-enabled groundwater monitoring with k-NN-SVM algorithm for sustainable water management. Acta Geophys. 72(4), 2715–2728 (2024).
Juwaied, A., Jackowska-Strumillo, L. & Sierszeń, A. Enhancing clustering efficiency in heterogeneous wireless sensor network protocols using the k-nearest neighbours algorithm. Sensors 25(4), 1029 (2025).
Nathiya, N., Rajan, C. & Geetha, K. A hybrid optimization and machine learning based energy-efficient clustering algorithm with self-diagnosis data fault detection and prediction for WSN-IoT application. Peer-to-Peer Netw. Appl. 18(2), 13 (2025).
Sharma, A. & Kansal, A. Enhanced CH selection and energy efficient routing algorithm for WSN. Microsyst. Technol. 31(3), 735–747 (2025).
Gupta, D. et al. Optimizing cluster head selection for e-commerce-enabled wireless sensor networks. IEEE Trans. Consum. Electron. 70(1), 1640–1647 (2024).
Lewandowski, M. & Płaczek, B. A cluster head selection algorithm for extending last node lifetime in wireless sensor networks. Sensors 25(11), 3466 (2025).
Jalili, A. et al. A novel model for efficient cluster head selection in mobile WSNs using residual energy and neural networks. Meas. Sensors 33, 101144 (2024).
Balamurali, S., Kathirvelu, M., Palanisamy, S. & Jaghdam, I. H. Redefining IoT networks for improving energy and memory efficiency through compressive sensing paradigm. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 27180 (2025).
Tabatabaei, S. A fault-tolerant clustering approach for target tracking in wireless sensor networks. Wireless Pers. Commun. 137(4), 2303–2322 (2024).
Zhang, S., Liu, X. & Trik, M. Energy efficient multi hop clustering using Artificial Bee Colony metaheuristic in WSN. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 26803 (2025).
Joon, R., Tomar, P., Kumar, G., Balusamy, B. & Nayyar, A. Unequal clustering energy hole avoidance (UCEHA) algorithm in cognitive radio wireless sensor networks (CRWSNs). Wireless Netw. 31(1), 735–757 (2025).
Singh, P. & Vir, R. Enhanced energy-aware routing protocol with mobile sink optimization for wireless sensor networks. Comput. Netw. 261, 111100 (2025).
Yuan, H. & Gao, C. Minimizing redundancy in wireless sensor networks using sparse vectors. Sensors 25(5), 1557 (2025).
Roberts, M. K., Jeevanandham, S., Lloret, J. & Dahan, F. An innovative dual-phased synergistic energy management approach for WSNs using enhanced sleep/awake scheduling and adaptive routing process. Simul. Model. Pract. Theory 142, 103120 (2025).
Bengheni, A. Relay node selection scheme and deep sleep period for power management in energy-harvesting wireless sensor networks. Int. J. Commun. Syst. 37(8), e5742 (2024).
Hema, L. K. & Raj, R. S. Enhancing energy-efficient sleep scheduling for Narrowband Internet of Things devices in coordinated 5G networks within smart environments. Int. J. Commun. Syst. 37(9), e5773 (2024).
Singh, Y. & Walingo, T. Smart water quality monitoring with IoT wireless sensor networks. Sensors 24(9), 2871 (2024).
Nguyen, H.-H.-D., Pradhan, A. M. S., Song, C.-H., Lee, J.-S. & Kim, Y.-T. A hybrid approach combining physics-based model with extreme value analysis for temporal probability of rainfall-triggered landslide. Landslides 22(1), 149–168 (2025).
Sanhaji, F., Affane, M. A. R., Satori, H. & Satori, K. Intelligent cluster head selection for energy-efficient wireless sensor networks: An MLP-based approach. Wireless Pers. Commun. 139(4), 1981–2001 (2024).
Jurado-Lasso, F. F., Jurado, J. F. & Fafoutis, X. LEACH-RLC: Enhancing IoT data transmission with optimized clustering and reinforcement learning. IEEE Internet Things J. 12, 23462–23478 (2025).
Wang, M., Chen, H., Wang, Y. & Chen, W. Improved soft-k-means clustering charging based on node collaborative scheduling in wireless sensor networks. Wireless Pers. Commun. 137(4), 2487–2513 (2024).
Prompook, T. et al. Impact of distance measures in adaptive K-means clustering on load profiles and spatial patterns of distributed substations in Thailand. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 21123 (2025).
Hada, R. P. S. & Srivastava, A. Dynamic cluster head selection in WSN. ACM Trans. Embedded Comput. Syst. 23(4), 1–27 (2024).
Senturk, A. Artificial neural networks-based LEACH algorithm for fast and efficient cluster head selection in wireless sensor networks. Int. J. Commun Syst 38(3), e6127 (2025).
Ambareesh, S. et al. A secure and energy-efficient routing using coupled ensemble selection approach and optimal type-2 fuzzy logic in WSN. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 38 (2025).
Asif, S., Wenhui, Y. & ul Ain, Q., Yueyang, Y., Jinhai, S. Improving the accuracy of diagnosing and predicting coronary heart disease using ensemble method and feature selection techniques. Clust. Comput. 27(2), 1927–1946 (2024).
Chaurasia, S. & Kumar, K. MBASE: Meta-heuristic based optimized location allocation algorithm for baSE station in IoT assist wireless sensor networks. Multimedia Tools Appl. 83(18), 53383–53415 (2024).
Li, H., Dai, Y., Chen, Q., Liao, D. & Jin, H. Energy efficient mobile sink driven data collection in wireless sensor network with nonuniform data. Sci. Rep. 14(1), 28190 (2024).
Hassan, E. S. et al. Energy-efficient data fusion in WSNs using mobility-aware compression and adaptive clustering. Technologies 12(12), 248 (2024).
Gharaei, N. & Alabdali, A. M. Secure and energy-efficient inter-and intra-cluster optimization scheme for smart cities using UAV-assisted wireless sensor networks. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 4190 (2025).
Amshavalli, R. S., Devi, D., Srinivasan, S., ShaliniRajan, R. & Jebamani, S. A. Boosted sooty tern and Pranhav foraging meta-heuristic optimized cluster head selection-based routing algorithm for extending network lifetime in WSNs. Peer-to-Peer Netw. Appl. 18(2), 66 (2025).
Liu, Z. et al. WSNs data acquisition by combining expected network coverage and clustered compressed sensing. PLoS ONE 20(6), e0326078 (2025).
Palanisamy, S. et al. A novel Hadamard matrix based hybrid compressive sensing technique for enhancing energy efficiency and network longevity. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 1–20 (2025).
El-Shenhabi, A. N., Abdelhay, E. H., Mohamed, M. A. & Moawad, I. F. A reinforcement learning-based dynamic clustering of sleep scheduling algorithm (RLDCSSA-CDG) for compressive data gathering in wireless sensor networks. Technologies 13(1), 25 (2025).
Tong, Y. et al. Coverage optimization and node minimization in WSNs: an enhanced hybrid PSO approach with spatial position encoding. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 25332 (2025).
Gao, X., Yao, X., Chen, B. & Zhang, H. SBCS-Net: Sparse Bayesian and deep learning framework for compressed sensing in sensor networks. Sensors 25(15), 4559 (2025).
He, Z., He, R., Ai, B., Zhang, H. & Zhong, Z. Joint angle-delay sparse structured compressed sensing for ISAC channel estimation. IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2025.3557767 (2025).
Ketshabetswe, L. K., Zungeru, A. M., Lebekwe, C. K. & Mtengi, B. A compression-based routing strategy for energy saving in wireless sensor networks. Results Eng. 23, 102616 (2024).
Handuo, H. et al. Investigation on uncertainty quantification of transonic airfoil using compressive sensing greedy reconstruction algorithms. Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 147, 109000 (2024).
Kumar, J. D. S.; Subramanyam, M. V.; Kumar, A. P. S. (2024). Hybrid Sand Cat Swarm Optimization Algorithm-based reliable coverage optimization strategy for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks. International Journal of Information Technology, 1–19.
Tharmalingam, R., Nachimuthu, N. & Prakash, G. An efficient energy supply policy and optimized self-adaptive data aggregation with deep learning in heterogeneous wireless sensor network. Peer-to-Peer Netw. Appl. 17(6), 3991–4012 (2024).
Khan, M. N., Lee, S. & Shah, M. Adaptive scheduling in cognitive IoT sensors for optimizing network performance using reinforcement learning. Appl. Sci. 15(10), 5573 (2025).
Zhang, Y., Xiao, X. & Guo, J. TransMCS: A hybrid CNN-transformer autoencoder for end-to-end multi-modal medical signals compressive sensing. Theor. Comput. Sci. 1051, 115409 (2025).
Eren, H., Karaduman, Ö. & Gençoğlu, M. T. Security challenges and performance trade-offs in on-chain and off-chain blockchain storage: A comprehensive review. Appl. Sci. 15(6), 3225 (2025).
Singh, N. & Adhikari, M. Integrated probabilistic clustering and Deep Reinforcement Learning for bias mitigation and device heterogeneity of Federated Learning in edge networks. J. Netw. Comput. Appl. 242, 104259 (2025).
Li, N. et al. Performance and energy consumption analysis for UWSNs with priority scheduling based on access probability and wakeup threshold. Sensors 25(2), 570 (2025).
Zaier, A., Lahmar, I., Yahia, M. & Lloret, J. Interval type 2 fuzzy unequal clustering and sleep scheduling for IoT-based WSNs. Ad Hoc Netw. 175, 103867 (2025).
Rajput, N. et al. Deep Q-learning driven protocol for enhanced border surveillance with extended wireless sensor network lifespan. CMES-Comput. Model. Eng. Sci. 143(3), 3839–3859 (2025).
Hameed, M. K. & Idrees, A. K. Energy-aware scheduling protocol-based hybrid metaheuristic technique to optimize the lifespan in WSNs. J. Supercomput. 80(9), 12706–12726 (2024).
Lee, W., Youn, J.-H. & Song, T.-S. Asymmetric wake-up scheduling based on block designs for Internet of Things. Ad Hoc Netw. 162, 103530 (2024).
Vatankhah, A. & Liscano, R. Comparative analysis of time-slotted channel hopping schedule optimization using priority-based customized differential evolution algorithm in heterogeneous IoT networks. Sensors 24(4), 1085 (2024).
Shaheen, Z., Sattar, K. & Ahmed, M. Pairing algorithm for varying data in cluster based heterogeneous wireless sensor networks. PeerJ Comput. Sci. 10, e2243 (2024).
Li, J., Wang, H. & Xiao, W. A reinforcement learning based mobile charging sequence scheduling algorithm for optimal sensing coverage in wireless rechargeable sensor networks. J. Ambient. Intell. Humaniz. Comput. 15(6), 2869–2881 (2024).
Mutar, M. S., Hamza, Z. A., Hammood, D. A. & Hashem, S. A. A survey of sleep scheduling techniques in wireless sensor networks for maximizing energy efficiency. AIP Conf. Proc. 3232(1), 020058 (2024).
Kumar, V., Singla, S., Arora, S., Keshari, S. K. & Kumar, S. Energy efficient optimized sleep scheduling routing protocol for enhancement of MANET lifetime. Wireless Pers. Commun. 136(3), 1849–1877 (2024).
Rawat, P., Rawat, G. S., Rawat, H. & Chauhan, S. Energy-efficient cluster-based routing protocol for heterogeneous wireless sensor network. Ann. Telecommun. 80(1), 109–122 (2025).
Singh, H. et al. Artificial neural network modeling and experimental analysis of erosion resistance in tungsten carbide-coated CA6NM stainless steel. Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 50, 1–21 (2025).
Kumar, V. et al. Enhanced clustering approach for efficient relay vehicle selection in vehicular ad hoc networks. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 38775 (2025).
Abdullah, M. I. et al. Numerical modeling and performance optimization of all inorganic Pb-free novel NaSnCl\(_3\)-based perovskite solar cells via SCAPS-1D framework. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 41709 (2025).
Kanchi, S. Clustering algorithm for wireless sensor networks with balanced cluster size. Procedia Comput. Sci. 238, 119–126 (2024).
Wang, W., Chen, J. & Zhang, Y. Adaptive compressive sensing based on sparsity order estimation for wireless image sensor networks. IEEE Sens. J. 24(13), 21132–21142 (2024).
Prince, B., Kumar, P. & Singh, S. K. Multi-level clustering and Prediction based energy efficient routing protocol to eliminate Hotspot problem in Wireless Sensor Networks. Sci. Rep. 15(1), 1122 (2025).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization, R.M., A.V.L. and N.A. ; methodology, A.J.G.D. , R.K. and A.B. ; software, A.J.G.D. , R.K. and A.B. ; validation, G.K., G.S. and S.K.S. ; formal analysis, A.J.G.D. , R.K. and A.B. ; data curation, R.M. , A.V.L. and N.A. ; writing-original draft preparation, R.M. , A.V.L. and N.A. ; writing-review and editing, G.K., G.S. and S.K.S. ; visualization, G.K., G.S. and S.K.S. ; supervision, A.J.G.D. , R.K. and A.B. ; project administration, A.J.G.D. , R.K. and A.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Disclosure
This study was performed as part of the employment of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Manchanda, R., Lakshmi, A.V., Kaur, G. et al. Energy-efficient wireless sensor network for urban groundwater level monitoring using machine learning and sink mobility. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39435-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39435-1